Life After the Island
by eljay345
Summary: Jack is a loving father to his only daughter, Maddlyn. Her mother, Kate, took off after Kate and Jack had been back from the island for 1 years. Maddlyn is now 7. what will happen when she shows up at Jack's hospital? I do not own any lost character!
1. Chapter 1

Jack is a loving father to his only daughter, Maddlyn. Her mother, Kate, took off after Kate and Jack had been back from the island for 1 ½ years. Maddlyn is now 7….she doesn't know anything about her mother…what will happen when Kate shows up at Jack's hospital as a patient. Read and Review!

The early morning sunlight poured through Jack Shepherd's window. He reached for his watch and groaned when he saw the time. 7:15. He was supposed to be at the hospital in half an hour.

He rushed through getting ready and then headed down the hall to his daughter, Maddlyn's room.

"Maddie, we're late," said Jack as he poked his head in her room.

His eyes met an empty room and an unmade bed. He made his way downstairs calling out her name. He checked the living room, the kitchen, and the family room. No sign of her. He was starting to panic when he saw her reading in the hammock out front. He let out a sigh of relief and started out the door.

"Maddlyn Shepherd!" said Jack sternly as he crossed the yard to where his daughter was reading. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I was just reading, Daddy." Said Maddie with a pouty expression on her face.

"You know you aren't supposed to take even a step outside this house without my permission," said Jack as he took her by then hand and lead her back into the house. "Go to you room and put on the clothes I laid out for you last night. We're late."

Jack gathered up a couple of books and a coloring book and put them into Maddie's backpack. Because of the island Jack was overly protective and he knew it. He just couldn't stand the thought of someone taking Maddlyn out of the front yard. She had the same free spirit that her mother did. That's what worried Jack. Kate had been a runner and he couldn't stand the thought of losing their daughter to the same fate.

When Maddie returned to the living room, she was dressed and ready for the day. Jack put his hands on her shoulders and came down to her level.

"I'm sorry I lost my temper, baby. But you have to understand that you cannot just go and come asyou please. I need to know where you are and what you're doing at all times. Understand?"

"Yes, sir," said Maddie.

"Good," said Jack.


	2. Chapter 2

As Jack navigated his way through L.A. traffic, in his Durango, he glanced at Maddlyn in the rearview mirror. She was reading. 'God she looks like Kate,' he thought….but no….he won't think about her.

"Is it good Maddie?" he asked. Most fathers would have asked what book she was reading, but Jack already knew Maddie was reading Charlotte's Web. Despite his long work hours he always knew what Maddlyn was reading, what she did at school, who her friends were and much more.

"Yep," said Maddlyn, not taking her eyes of the page.

Jack smiled as he pulled into the hospital's parking garage. On Saturdays Maddie went to something called 'Kid Care' at the hospital. It was a kind of daycare for older kids whose parents worked in the hospital.

They made there way to the third floor where Maddie spent her Saturdays.

"I'll probably only be working until 2 today," Jack said to the worker as he signed Maddie in.

"Hey Maddie!" said Ellie, the worker behind the desk. "That's fine Dr. Shepherd."

"Have a good morning sweetie," said Jack as he kissed the top of Maddie's head. "Behave."

"I will," said Maddie. "Love you daddy."

"Love you too," said Jack.

Jack went to his office and put on his white coat over his blue dress shirt. He looked around his office and on every surface Maddlyn's face met his. She was his world and that was the way he like it. He had dated a bit after Kate, but nothing too serious. Those women never came home to meet Maddlyn either. He had always promised himself that she would never meet a woman that was there to stay.

Jack met with several patients and by 1 o'clock he was ready for a break. As he made his way back to the office a woman with dark brown hair caught his eye. He did a double take, but she was already gone. 'It couldn't be….' He thought to himself. Kate would not come here. She wouldn't just appear. He pulled out his blackberry and quickly dialed the number of the Kid Care.

"Ellie," he said as he heard her give the usually greeting. "There hasn't been anyone to see Maddie since I left. Has there?"

"No, and we would definitely know. You have to leave special permission for her to have guests," said Ellie. "Why? Is there a problem?"

"Everything's fine," said Jack quickly. "I'll be there to get Maddie in about half an hour."

Jack breathed a sigh of relief and kept on with his day….but it was hard to shake the thought that he might have seen Kate. He couldn't decide how he felt about this. After all he had been madly in love with her…but she had left….when he had needed her the most. He could forgive her for leaving him, but not for leaving Maddie. He shook of his feelings and continued his rounds.

Hey guys! Sorry these have been so short! My Spring Break is coming up and I will definitely have tons of time to write then. I'm really thankful for the reviews!


	3. Chapter 3

"Maddie!" Jack called up the stairs. "Did you get into the tub yet?"

He smiled when he heard a splash and a "yep!" from upstairs. As he continued to look through the bills that had come in the mail his thoughts returned to Kate. Angrer swept over him. 'Why now?' he thought. She had made her choice a long time ago and he had done just fine with Maddie ever since.

About 10 minutes later a pajama clad Maddie bounded down the stairs and into the family room.

"Walk Maddie," warned Jack from his chair.

She settled into the chair with her dad and he opened up her Harry Potter book to the page they had left off on the night before. After about thirty minutes Jack noticed Maddie's breaths becoming even and steady. He gently lifted her and made his way upstairs. After he had tucked her into her bed he went back downstairs to watch a little baseball.

As he walked past the kitchen the phone rang. "Hello," Jack answered.

His greating was met with silence. He listened and he knew someone was there.

"Kate?" asked Jack urgently.

"It's so good to hear your voice," said Kate.

Jack sank onto the closest chair and rested his head in his hands.

Kate was silent for a moment and then said, "Jack…please say something."

"What do you want me to say Kate?" yelled Jack. "How have you been since you abandoned your baby SIX years ago?" He had risen at this point and was stomping around the kitchen.

"Jack, please," Kate said. "I know you hate me and you have every right to, but I want – ."

"What Kate? What do you want?"

"To talk," said Kate. "I want to make things right with you….and with Maddlyn."

Jack could tell she was crying, but he honestly didn't care. Maddie was his world and he would be damned if he let Kate anywhere near her.

"You left Kate," said Jack. "You left her behind and you didn't look back. It is my job to protect her and I won't let anything happen to her."

"Jack," Kate said softly. "Do you honestly think that I would to anything to hurt our baby?"

"She isn't OUR baby!!!" exclaimed Jack. "She is MINE. I was there when she fell down the stairs and broke her arm in the 4th grade. I was there when she learned to walk, talk, and read. I'm there for her now when she has nightmares or when she can't fall asleep."

Kate was so silent, that for a moment Jack thought that she had hung up.

"Were you at the hospital today?" asked Jack.

"Jack- ." said Kate.

"Were you there?" interjected Jack.

"Yes…I knew you wouldn't let me see her..I thought that maybe if I could have caught you in person, that you would have felt differently," said Kate.

"You won't be allowed to see her at Kid Care," said Jack securely. "They know that I am the only one that is to pick her up and she isn't to have visitors."

"Jack…could we meet?" said Kate. "I want to try to make things right, but I can't unless you let me explain. Please Jack. I love you both so much…even if you don't see that. I've changed and I want so much to be a part of your lives and fo you to be a part of mine."

Jack was silent for a moment before he said, "How long are you in town?"

"I'm here to stay," said Kate quickly. "I'm going to try to find a job."

"We can meet in the afternoon tomorrow," said Jack slowly. "Maddie has a play date with one of her friends, so I'm free. I'll meet you at the Starbucks near the hospital at around 2."

"Great," said Kate with a sigh of relief. "Thank you Jack."

"Sure," said Jack quickly. "Night."

He hung up the phone quickly and burried his head in hands. For a while he just sat there thinking about the decision he had just made. _Was he ready to see Kate? Would she be different? What would he feel? Would all of the feelings come roaring back? What does she expect to come of this?_

Much later he turned off all the lights downstairs and made his way up to bed. When he passed by Maddie's room he poked his head in the door. Her Belle night light glowed softly in the dark room. He planted a soft kiss on her forehead and tucked the covers around her once more.

He made his way to his bedroom….but he tossed and turned for hours.

Kate stared at her phone…_had she really just spoken with Jack..._

'I can't believe I'm going to see him tomorrow' she thought.

She put the keys in the ignition and then glanced over to Jack's now darkened house. Kate was thinking that she was really glad she had decided to call instead of just appear at the house.

"I want my family back," Kate said aloud as she pulled away from the curb.

Hey guys!! Thanks so much for reviewing! I'm sorry these have been so short! I'm almost done with midterms and then I will have tons of time to write


	4. Chapter 4

The next afternoon after Jack had dropped Maddie off at her friend, Anna's, house he headed for the coffee shop. 'Keep your cool,' he thought to himself as he pulled into the parking lot. It had taken him 3 years to get over Kate and even now he wasn't sure that was true. She had been everything to him and then she had gone. In his heart he knew that he didn't have a chance because he was seeing her. By agreeing to see her he, in a sense, he had already agreed to forgive her.

As he walked into the coffee shop he glanced around. Then…his eyes fell on that long curly brown hair. She turned to look at him and he felt his pulse quicken. A huge smile spread across her face as she came forward to hug him. He tried to hold himself back as much as possible, but he was very glad to see her.

"How are you?" asked Kate after they had ordered and settled down at the table.

"I'm good." Said Jack in a guarded tone. "I was made chief of surgery a couple of years ago. I thought it was going to be too large of time commitment, but I've really made it work."

"That's great Jack," said Kate, giving him a huge smile. "I always knew that you would be the best."

"What about you?" asked Jack skeptically. "What have you been up to all these years?"

"I got my name cleared," said Kate slowly. "My mom finally testified that Wayne had been hitting her and she wouldn't testify against me. All charges were dropped. Then I traveled around for awhile."

"What made you stop?" asked Jack.

"I realized what I gave up," said Kate with a sad, distant look in her eyes. "I realized that I what I wanted more than anything was a family. I wanted to see our baby and see you."

Jack sighed heavily and rubbed his hands over his face. "It isn't that simple, Kate….I have to be so careful with Maddie."

"I'm sure you've dated, Jack," said Kate.

"But she never meets those women," said Jack firmly. "I always told myself that Maddie would never meet a woman and less she was there to stay. I never wanted her to get attached and then have that person leave her."

Those words hit Kate like a slap in the face.

"I'm sorry I hurt you Jack," said Kate has she reached out and touched his hand on the table. "I'm sorry I hurt our baby….I was young and confused…I've grown up so much since I've been gone. Please let me show you that. I promise I will do anything to prove myself to you."

There was a long silence. Kate thought for sure that Jack was going to get up and leave.

"I want to see you some more…before I let you see Maddie," said Jack slowly. "I need to make sure that you aren't going to run again."

A couple of tears escaped out of Kate's eyes.

"Thank you," she said softly. "That means more to me then you know.

Over the next month Jack and Kate saw each other a dozen times. Usually it was for coffee or dinner. They settled into the relationship that was so natural to them that it was as if Kate had never left. It was so easy for Jack to remember why he loved her so much. He had always known that his daughter resembled Kate and had some of her mannerisms, but he never realized that they were practically the same person.

"What are you staring at?" asked Kate one afternoon after they had been seeing each other for about a month.

"I was just thinking you and Maddie do the same pouty thing with your mouths when you're thinking about something," said Jack.

Kate smiled, but then frowned slightly.

"When can I see her, Jack?" she asked tentatively. "I've held down a job and I obviously haven't gone anywhere.

Jack ran a hand through his hair before he answered. "I don't, Kate….I'm still nervous…"

"What more can I do, Jack?" asked Kate exasperatedly. "I want to see our child."

"Give me more time," said Jack desperately.

Jack's mom, Leslie, always takes Maddie when Jack goes to visit Kate. This time Maddie was spending the night with her Nana. Leslie had just gone in to check that Maddie was asleep when she heard the phone ring. She smiled to herself, knowing that it was Jack. He always called to make sure that Maddie had gotten to sleep all right. Leslie was so proud of the father that her son had turned out to be.

"Hello," answered Leslie as she picked up the phone.

"Hey mom," said Jack as he settled down in his armchair. "Maddie get to sleep okay?"

"She was sleeping like a baby when I went in to check," said Leslie.

"Good," said Jack.

"How was your night?" asked Leslie pointedly.

"It was fine," said Jack.

"Uh oh," said Leslie. "Let's have it. What happened?"

"Kate wants to see Maddie and she starting to push me," said Jack. "I just don't know if I'm ready."

Leslie didn't notice the small, pajama clad figure standing in the hallway behind her.

"Well she is Maddie's mother," said Leslie. "Maybe she has a right to see her. She has proven that she can be trusted."

Maddie turned around and hurried back to her room.

'My mom??' she thought to herself. 'Daddy always said that mommy had to go away and that she wasn't coming back….' She settled herself in bed and tried to go back to sleep.

"I know she has, mom," said Jack.

"I think you need to prepare yourself for the fact that she is probably here to stay," said Leslie. "You need to decide how you're going to tell Maddie that her mother is here and that she is going to be a part of your lives."

This one felt nice and long!! I hope you guys enjoy!! Thanks so much for all of the comments!


	5. Chapter 5

Jack pulled his SUV into his mom's driveway and sighed. He had been toiling all night about what to do about Kate. One thing was for sure he definitely wasn't telling Maddie anything until he was positive that Kate would be sticking around. The last thing he needed was Maddie crying herself to sleep every night because he was too eager to try to make things work with Kate. No…he would protect Maddie.

He finally made his way to the door and walked into the kitchen.

"Hey mom," he said as he took a seat on one of the three bar stools that sat around the kitchen island.

"Hey yourself," said Diane as she dried the dish she had in her hand (I don't know if there is an actual name for Jack's mom or not).

"Where's Maddie?" asked Jack as he plucked an apple from the fruit bowl.

"In the den…pouting…" said Dian in a frustrated voice. "For some reason she woke up in a mood this morning and about 10 minutes ago I sent her in there to cool off."

"Was she horrible?" asked Jack as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Of course not," said Diane. "I just make her sit in there when she's disrespectful. Every kid does this, Jack."

"Not my kid," said Jack as he strode over towards the hallway door. "I want to know what's up."

Jack's mom's house was a spacious 3 story house that had been newly renovated. He made his way to the second floor den and found his daughter sitting on the sofa with a frown on her face.

"Hey," said Jack from the doorway.

"Hi," said Maddie as she continued to frown. "Are we going home now?"

"Not yet," said Jack as he sat on the far edge of the U-shaped sofa. "Grandma said that you guys have had a rough morning?"

Maddie shrugged and continued to frown at the carpet.

"Wanna tell me what's up?" asked Jack.

"Nothing," said Maddie, "I'm jus ready to go home."

"Well I want to know why you were disrespectful to your grandmother," said Jack. "The sooner we talk and you apologize the sooner we will go home." He folded his arms in a "I mean business" fashion.

"I'm sorry," said Maddie in an exasperated voice. "I'm just tired.

"No, I don't think that's it," said Jack as he got up and crouched infront of this daughter. When she didn't meet his eyes, he gently lifted her chin with his finger. What he saw there tore at his heart. There was definitely something wrong with Mddie. If she were just being an onory seven year old he would have been able to tell.

"Hey," said Jack. "Did something happen? Are you sad about something?"

Maddie shook her head and stood up. "I'm ready to apologize," she said.

Before Jack could argue she had already stared down the stairs. He quickly followed.

"I'm sorry didi," Maddie said when she had reached the kitchen. She reached out and gave her grandmother a big hug.

"It's okay sweetheart," said Diane. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Go get your stuff sweetie," said Jack.

Jack waited until after Maddie had left the room before saying, "I'm going to try to get her to talk tonight. She didn't even give me a clue when we were upstairs."

"Just let me know," said Diane.

Maddie returned to the kitchen and she and Jack headed for home.

When they reached the house Maddie and Jack went about there normal routine. Maddie was still pouting that night and Jack began to get worried.

At bedtime he found her curled up on her bed with a copy of Little House on the Prairie.

Jack came into the room and laid down next to her on the bed.

"Maddie," he said. When there was no response he gently pried the book she had been reading out of her hands. "What's up?"

Maddie was quiet for a minute before saying, "Is my mom here?"

Jack's eyes widened and he realized what had happened. "Did you hear us on the phone last night?

Maddie nodded as she hugged her legs to her chest.

"Okay, sweetheart," said Jack as he pulled her into his lap. "We need to talk. I saw your mom today."

"I thought you said she wasn't coming back," said Maddie as she wrinkled her forehead.

"I didn't know that she was," said Jack. "She surprised me yesterday."

Maddie was quiet for a minute. "So….why did she come back?"

"I think she wanted to meet you," said Jack with a sigh. "And who could blame her?" He was asked as he nudged his daughter playfully.

There was a long silence. "I know you must have questions," said Jack.

"Where is she?" asked Maddie.

"I'm not sure where she's staying," said Jack. "I just know that it is somewhere in the city."

"I don't know how I'm supposed to feel," said Maddie.

"That's okay," said Jack. "Remember that I love you so much. No matter what I will always be here and I will always love you." Jack kissed the top of his daughter's head and started to rock her slowly.

About ten minutes later he said, "You need to get some sleep now. We can talk about this some more after school tomorrow."

"Okay," said Maddie as Jack helped her get under the covers.

Jack planted a kiss on his daughters forehead and turned off her lamp.

"Love you," said Maddie.

"I love you, too," said Jack. He pulled the blankets up around her and turned and left the room.

A little while later when he had checked to make sure that Maddie was asleep he picked up the phone to call Kate.

"I didn't think you would call this quickly," said Kate a very relieved voice.

"Maddie knows," said Jack as he sighed and settled himself into a livingroom armchair.

"You told her?" asked Kate. She was unsure about how she should feel about the previous statement.

"No….she overheard her grandmother talking to me about you on the phone last night," said Jack.

There was a long silence.

"Tell me what you're thinking, Jack," said Kate.

"I'm thinking that I have a very confused and hurt little girl here," said Jack. "I'm not sure how I want to handle this."

"I think that we both know that the best thing for Maddie…now that she knows about me….is for her to meet me," said Kate quickly. "You know I would never hurt her, Jack."

"Ha," said Jack. "Abandoning her when she was a baby wasn't painful?"

"I think you are referring to the pain it caused you," said Kate. "Maddie wasn't old enough to understand."

Jack was silent and Kate was afraid that she had gone a step too far.

"Please….Jack," said Kate. "Let me meet my daughter."

Sorry it has been so long!!!! The internet has been going in and out since Sunday. Hope you guys enjoy!


End file.
